Lyme Disease Signs & Symptoms

Lyme Disease Signs & Symptoms

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Lyme disease occurs in thousands of people every year, but if the disease is diagnosed early enough, treatment is usually effective. If you live in an area where there are ticks, especially where Lyme disease occurs frequently, it's smart to know the symptoms and be alert for the disease.

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Function

1. Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which is transmitted to humans by the deer tick. The deer tick is common in the Northeast, Northwest and Midwest, where the majority of the Lyme disease cases are reported. The longer a tick is attached to you, the higher your risk of contracting Lyme disease.

Identification

2. Most people infected with Lyme disease get a large rash at the spot of infection. The rash is commonly referred to as a "Bull's Eye" rash because the center will appear normal but be surrounded with a red ring. The rash does not hurt, but it may feel itchy and could appear anywhere from a week to a month after the person has been infected.

Size

3. Deer ticks, which transmit Lyme disease, are hard to detect because they are small--adults are only a couple of millimeters wide when fully grown.

Features

4. Along with the rash, people infected with Lyme disease may also experience headaches, dizziness, and weakness. Joint pain can also spread through the legs. Known as "Lyme arthritis", the pain mainly affects the knees but can spread to other parts of the body and cause permanent pain even when the Lyme disease has been cured.

Considerations

5. While the majority of cases do have a rash, 70 to 80 percent, in some cases a rash may not appear and the Lyme disease could be challenging to detect if no symptoms occur. Some of the signs and symptoms can also be associated with other tick diseases such as babesiosis, tick-borne relapsing fever and tularemia. A blood test will help determine which disease you have.

Read more: Lyme Disease Signs & Symptoms | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_4779445_lyme-disease-signs-symptoms.html#ixzz1EZnBuOPN